Alex Megos, with a dozen routes 9b or beyond to his name, has repeated Jules Marchaland’s Le bruit de l’acid (9b) in Claret. Here is the Vertical-Life interview from last November. ”Worked the route for 3 days and then sent on day 4 after a rest day. Such a good move in the middle!! Dyno from a little pinch to a tufa. Unbelievable that such a move exists not only on the Kilterboard 😂 Very much my style I would say. Not the hardest of 9b's, but also not 9a+ anymore in my eyes.” (c) Sam Bie

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
Well it all started with seeing the video of Jules and after talking to him he said it's like an 8B Kilterboard boulder in the middle of the route 😂. That of course got me psyched. The weather in the Frankenjura was not too good a couple of weeks ago so we made the decision to come to Claret to finally climb on rock again. Already on the first day I knew the route is totally my style. I could do all the moves without too much trouble. On day 2 and 3 I worked on sequences and made sure I have the end dialed. On day 4 (after a rest day) the weather was pretty windy, so quite good for sending. I redid the moves for warm up, gave it one go, fell on the huge drive by move, rested for 45min and then did it.

What are your competition plans for 2026?
Not sure yet to be honest. Focus is definitely on rock, but I'm not sure how many (if any) world cups I'm doing.

Luca Bacer, a PhD student in mathematics, has completed Xaxid hostel (9a) in Mišja Peč. ”The best climbing flow I’ve ever had.” (c) Nicholas Hobley

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried the route two years ago, after climbing Sanjski Par, but this has been the first season I’ve really decided to put serious effort into it.

Two months ago I started working on it more consistently and managed to do some good links, although I had never gotten through the first crux.

Yesterday, despite the bad conditions, I did the first boulder and then climbed all the way to the top. Clipping the chains was an incredible relief

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Adam Ondra, who last year flashed three 8B+’ and his first 8C, reports on Instagram that he has flashed The Lion's Share (8C) in Brione. Aidan Roberts made the FA in 2023 and said it was perhaps 8C or even 8C+.

Including also 19 flashes 8B or 8B+, Ondra has the most impressive flash tick list out there by a great margin. More info to come.

”There are more candidates 8C flash for the next few days.”

Willow Petrobelli has made a great comeback after a spine injury sending Pal este (8c) as well as Via del Quim (8b+) in Margalef. (c) Filmbychen

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your climbing background?
I first tried the route three years ago when it was way out of my grade range but it instantly inspired me. The sequences are beautiful the whole way and the top crux just seemed unfathomable to link from the floor!! Then a year and a half ago I found out I had stress fractures in my spine and had to take 6 months completely off climbing or training of any kind. I started climbing again almost exactly a year ago now so to get my hardest send relatively soon after that is something I’m very proud of :)

I pulled back on Pal Este in October for 2 days and was instantly suprised how possible it felt! I was able to makes some big links and planned to come back at Christmas for 2 weeks to try and send. But sadly it rained the whole time and I only got 3 semi-dry days on the route. On the last day of that trip I managed to get past the high crux twice, falling off the very last move to a slightly wet hold. From there I knew it was just the matter of booking another trip :)

I’ve been climbing in Margalef for over 10 years, mainly with my mum. The rock, the place and the people are very very special. I wouldn’t have wanted to send anywhere else :)

Ajda Remškar, national youth team manager for Slovenia, has sent Corrida (8c) in Mišja Peč.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and your climbing background?
Been climbing for over 2 decades! I started in a local club in Slovenia, then competed for the Slovenia youth team, moved to Scotland where I competed for the University of Edinburgh, and after coming back home to Slovenia started rock climbing more. I currently work as a national youth team manager, and still actively climb a lot. The last 6 months have been mega—training, dedicating more time to being outside, surrounding myself with awesome people; everything just clicked and it’s been really fun climbing all these cool iconic routes. In October I did Kaj ti je deklica? (first 8b+, 7 att), so it made sense to try the next one up. The last third of Corrida was some of the most enjoyable climbing I’ve ever done. As a numbers person, 8c has been a big dream of mine for ages so it really means a lot that it’s finally a reality.

What are your 2026 plans and ambitions?
The international season is kicking off so I’ll be busier with travelling and work, but hopefully squeeze in a trip here and there, and of course there’s still so much to do in Slovenia. I’m looking forward to see how Kingslayer (8c, was trying it last summer) feels this year, but honestly I’ve done so little rock climbing before last couple years that everywhere I go there’s still so much to try.

Kacper Heretyk, with two 9a’s under his belt, has completed Joe-cita (9a) in Oliana.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I’m very satisfied. Joe Cita is a beautiful combination that has everything I love about climbing — sustained climbing (50 m), the crux right at the very end, and a slightly overhanging character. I managed to lead it faster than any other route I’ve climbed at this grade. It took me six attempts to send it (not counting the fact that I already knew the other lines).

The inaugural Pro Climbing League Championship in London featured a new head-to-head format. Oriane Bertone and Max Milne claimed the first PCL titles. (c) Stefan Voitl

In the women’s final, Bertone delivered directly against Janja Garnbret, flashing the problem with two dynamic foot-cut moves. Garnbret reached hold two before falling. “It’s so great overall, everything was so fun,” said the 20-year-old Bertone. “It’s a new format, it’s very interesting.” Annie Sanders rounded out the podium in third. Bertone, currently the world’s top-ranked female boulderer, now adds the title to her 11 World Cup podiums.

On the men’s side, Scotland’s Milne secured victory reaching one hold further at 4+ minutes. Known as a creative showman and dark horse, the 25-year-old used a bold double hand jam through the crux as time expired, reaching hold five, hands left bloody. Colin Duffy finishing second, while Tomoa Narasaki took third. Prize money awarded £10,000, £5,000, and £2,500 to the top three in each category. The event featured eight men and eight women, including also Erin McNeice, Anon Matsufuji, Camilla Moroni, Jenny Buckley, Lucia Dorffel, Toby Roberts, Mejdi Schalck, Yannick Flohé, Mickael Mawem, and Darius Rapa.

The PCL format pits two climbers side by side on identical boulders. Winners advance across qualifying, semifinal, and final rounds, with four-plus minutes per problem.

Beckett Hsin, who sent his first 8C in 2023, has repeated Nathaniel Coleman’s No One Mourns the Wicked (9A) in South Platte. The spectacular line adds an 8B sit start to Defying Gravity (8C) which the 158 cm tall and 16-year-old sent last October in just one session. (c) Bryce Bozovich

”Back in 2022 | set the myself the goal of climbing my first v12 with the hopes of doing it before my 13th birthday. I had been climbing for around 6 years, but until that point had never bouldered outside much. The idea of outdoor bouldering was something that always got me psyched, but it was new to me and I had no clue what I was capable of. I thought that goal would be a cool way to test what my limit was on rock. That same summer I ended up sending what, at the time, I called my first v14. After that summer, I started joking about how it would cool to continue bouldering my age as I got older.

Each season I got more psyched and my love for climbing grew. Subsequently the limit of what I was possible expanded as well, and I started to internalize that goal even more.

NOMTW challenged me in ways no other boulder has. After completing Defying Gravity I was relatively confident about my chances with the low. But, after session 2 l realized how much of a battle it would be be. I don't talk about if often, but I have Lyme disease. While it's generally nothing more than an inconvenience. At times, it can become an issue within my climbing. This was one of those cases. Issues with my Lyme stacked on top of several other uncontrollable factors, specifically conditions caused my sessions to be very inconsistent. Some days I'd feel good and could stick the crux move 80% of the time (in iso). Other days I'd barely generate enough to touch the hold

In the end, it all came down to patience. I knew it was possible, and I knew it was only a matter of finding the right day. But, I also had to accept the fact that I might not send, and learn to be okay with that. I feel like In the past I've always sent boulders by forcing the moves into submission, but this felt like the complete opposite. I had to submit myself to the boulder. However, last week my day finally came. On the hike in my body felt good, my mind felt clear, and the conditions were perfect. Everything was aligned and I knew I was ready.

When grading boulders I generally try to be as honest with myself as possible, basing grades off my personal experiences. I personally don't feel like I have enough experience with boulders at this difficultly to give an honest opinion on the grade. However, regardless if this thing truly is v17 or not, it does feel like a satisfying resolve to the goal that I've worked for the past several years.

I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to share this experience with so many amazing people. Thanks you to everyone who's supported me over these past few years. I'm beyond psyched to continue pushing the my limits, and I'm psyched to see what's next for me and my climbing!”

Eva Hammelmüller, who the last four months has done seven routes 8c+ or 9a, has repeated Erwan Legrand’s Sans Complexe (9a) in Aix-en-Provence. ”J’ai pas les mots. [I have no words] When I first tried this route three days ago, the roof was wet, and I was scared of pulling hard on monos. However, I quickly got more and more confident on one-finger-underclings, and I had a really promising go yesterday! Today, with almost comletely dry holds, I sent the whole thing!! I agree with Erwan and Antoine regarding the grade - crazy hard 8c+ or soft 9a.” (c) Felix Mast

The 25-year-old Austrian has also the last week done José pine le gardien (8c), Pâques Express (8c) and during a night session Perplexe (8b+) to avoid the 20+ degree heat wave in southern France. “I checked out this cool route in the sun and, despite the heat, really enjoyed doing the moves. Not expecting anything, I went for a headlamp-sendgo in the evening, managed to climb quite well despite the headlamp (with which I usually struggle a lot) and sent the route! What a nice ending to a day that started with 3 bleeding fingers :D”

How can you best explain your great progress lately?
I think my decision to stop competing and focus on rock climbing lifted so much pressure from my shoulders and gave me more freedom to adapt my training to my needs. Plus, I can now invest all my time into getting physically stronger and preparing for my rock climbing projects. Physically, I feel maybe in the best shape of my life, and I hope I can realise that in further projects.